Life in SLC: Updation

Hello from Todd,

Anna is enjoying her last day off before starting her internship at the VA tomorrow by having me do the blog entry. We bought Anna a bike today from our neighbor so that she has another transportation option for getting to that internship as she has found the bus to be both a blessing and a curse depending on when she gets out of class. I had a great birthday hanging out with Anna and our friends Mark and Jenna. Thank you all for the cards/gifts. My team is getting ready for the region meet Wednesday and Thursday and we are hoping to qualify a few athletes to the state meet. I also got asked to be an assistant coach for cross country this fall as well.

The biggest news to report is of Matt and Holly's visit out this past weekend. We had a great time with them here in SLC and especially down in Zion National Park.We spent two days backpacking and a third day hiking while I played hooky from school Monday (the students were jealous). We saw lizards, frogs, a large salamander, mule deer and wild turkey but the most exciting thing to see was the scenery itself. For our day hike we went up the Narrows, which is essentially a hike straight up the Virgin River with about 70% of the hike in knee to waist water (or deeper). We rented special water boots and neoprene socks to keep our feet warm because the water was about 45 degrees. Everyone else we saw was wearing wet or dry suits but we toughed it out and had a great time. The best parts included hiking up a beautiful side canyon, standing in the wall street section with 2000+ foot cliffs on both sides, and herding some mule deer down the canyon. Anna and I will definitely be heading back because there are some great hikes in Zion that we would still like to do. Thanks for coming out to visit Matt and Holly.

Peace.